German Politician Criticizes Colleague’s Use of Fashion to Make a Point in Parliament
Former Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has expressed his disapproval of the approach taken by his successor, Julia Klöckner, the current Bundestag President from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in handling political messages in the parliament.
According to Thierse, Klöckner’s strict stance in addressing political disagreements through parliamentary means, rather than through alternative methods, such as clothing, is justified. He believes that the public speech in the parliament should be the primary means of political debate, not the display of personal statements through clothing, which cannot be properly discussed.
Thierse emphasized the importance of addressing political issues through parliamentary channels, stating that such developments should be stopped early on, as they erode the function of the parliament.
The criticism comes in the wake of an incident in which Bundestag President Klöckner had a Left Party member, Köktürk, removed from a plenary session after the latter wore a T-shirt with the slogan “Palestine” to the session. Prior to the incident, Klöckner had reportedly sought a conversation with Köktürk beforehand.
In a similar case, a Left Party member was forced to leave the plenary hall a few weeks earlier after Klöckner intervened, as he wore a Basque cap.